1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to internal illumination of enclosures/containers having holiday/seasonal themes and, more particularly, to a system and method for illuminating Halloween-themed Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins.
2. Background Art
Pumpkins have long been an important part of the Halloween holiday. The yearly tradition of hollowing-out and creatively carving pumpkins to transform them into Jack-O-Lanterns is as popular as ever. An essential aspect of the Jack-O-Lantern is the internal lighting thereof which naturally attracts attention and creates an interesting and aesthetically pleasing visual effect. Wax candles have commonly been utilized for this purpose, as have other items which provide light via an open flame.
Increasingly, however, carvers of home-made Jack-O-Lanterns are choosing non-flame or artificial light sources, such as incandescent light bulbs or light-emitting diodes, to illuminate their creations. While this trend may have arisen out of a desire for increased safety, the wide variety of creative and attractive devices and systems now available for non-flame illumination of the humble Halloween pumpkin points to a broader appeal. Such broad appeal may, for example, be based on a demand for more and different lighting options to suit individual preferences, to inspire creativity, or simply to provide amusing diversions.
Artificial lighting devices for pumpkin-type Jack-O-Lanterns are known. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,945 to Wyss, et al., a translucent or transparent artificial stem, prepared for attachment to a pumpkin in replacement of the pumpkin's natural stem, is described. The artificial stem, which attaches to the pumpkin via adhesive is provided with a cavity. The cavity in the artificial stem enables the insertion of a small, tubular shaped chemiluminescent lighting device or “light stick”, which lighting device temporarily generates luminescent light for illuminating the artificial stem by virtue of being inserted therein. Also described in the Wyss et al. '945 patent is a decorative replacement stem formed of an optically transparent glass or acrylic, with attachment means by extension of a pointed base into a pumpkin's hollow center or interior. The replacement stem tends to emit light at its remote edges which is picked up from any source which may be located within the interior volume space of the pumpkin, such as a candle or light bulb.
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,833 to Paniaguas et al. is a kit for creating a face on a pumpkin so as to produce a Jack-O-Lantern. The kit includes a plurality of illuminating units, each of which is equipped with a battery and a light bulb; and a plurality of translucent facial elements such as an eye, a mouth, an ear, etc., each of which is screwed onto a respective one of the illuminating units. Each facial element envelops and surrounds the respective light bulb so that light from the light bulb is transmitted through the facial element and thereafter emitted from an external surface of the facial element. Each of the illuminating units includes a spear-like pointed base which is pushed into the flesh of the pumpkin in order to mount the respective illuminating unit on the pumpkin. The extreme end forms a sharp angle to facilitate penetration of the pumpkin flesh.
Other references disclose various means by which illumination devices are mounted within a hollow pumpkin via embedding one or more suitable structures into the flesh of the interior walls of the pumpkin. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0210555 to Cicero et al. discloses a decorative lamp equipped with multiple prongs designed to permit the lamp to be embedded into the flesh of the pumpkin below the stem thereof. At least partially similar structure is disclosed in each of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0189825 to Tauch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,741 to Bonnema et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,964 to Bou.
Despite efforts to date, a need remains for attractive and creative artificial lighting units that are configured and dimensioned for internal illumination of pumpkin-type Jack-O-Lanterns, and that are both safe and convenient to use.